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Overview

A skill is a markdown file of instructions in your repository. Call it by name from a rule or a PR comment and the agent follows it, so the procedure lives in one file instead of being repeated in every rule. Use a skill when you want to give the agent a procedure, not a server. A custom integration is an MCP server the agent calls. A skill is instructions, plus any scripts you keep next to them.

Versioned With Your Code

A skill changes on the branch that changes the procedure

No Setup

Commit SKILL.md and the next run finds it

Called On Demand

Costs nothing on the runs that do not use it

Runs Your Scripts

A skill can run scripts you keep in its directory
Skills are available on the Pro and Enterprise plans, alongside repository rules.

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Where Skills Live

Each skill is a directory with a SKILL.md inside:
Gitar reads .gitar/skills/ and .claude/skills/, one level deep. A SKILL.md nested deeper is not found. On a name collision .gitar/skills/ wins, and an enabled integration whose slug matches a skill name wins over the skill — pick a name no integration uses.

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Writing a Skill

Frontmatter, then the instructions:
The body goes to the agent as written, so write instructions to follow, not documentation.
name comes from the frontmatter, not the directory. A SKILL.md with no name is skipped.

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Calling a Skill

Name the skill in a rule:
Or ask on any PR:
Naming the skill is what calls it. There is no slash-command syntax, so /migration-check does nothing. A skill runs on its own, with the repository checked out, so it can run scripts from its directory. It gets no MCP server and no secrets, so anything that has to reach an external system belongs in a custom integration.
A skill runs only when something calls it. To change what code review looks for on every PR, use .gitar/review/.

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When to Use a Skill

Review instructions load on every run and you pay for them every run. A skill loads only when called, so a long procedure belongs in one.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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Why is my skill not being used?

Check the file is SKILL.md, that it sits one directory under .gitar/skills/ or .claude/skills/, and that the frontmatter has a name. After that, the usual cause is that nothing named it.

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Can a skill use my Jira or Slack credentials?

No. A skill is instructions and scripts, with no secrets of its own. Let the skill decide what should happen and let the rule call the integration.

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Can a skill span more than one file?

Yes. Only SKILL.md is read up front, but the rest of the directory is checked out, so a skill can point at references/schema.md or run scripts/check.sh.